Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Comments
Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum
That's why the NHSTA and the investigators can state truthfully that they have seen a myriad of cases with the 300M. They're right, but so are you, because 1: you got a good one, and 2: your fellow club members also ended up with good ones. Basically your membership is not representative of the population as a whole, just like most other car clubs.
In my club, we have folks that have experienced serious failures in our cars, we admit it and move on, sometimes to another car make, other times to a different model or even to the same car after repairs.
Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum
Gotta READ the fine print before you buy.
I am the proud driver of a 2001 Pre-Certified Buick LeSabre (I'd love to say 'OWNER', but I'm still paying off the note). I posted to the Buick LeSabre discussion board a question on third-party extended warranties and was directed here.
Does anyone know 1) how I can get an GMPP Extended Warranty (if I've already purchased one good through September with the car), or 2) a good group of reputable third -party warranty companies?
I am still debating whether or not to buy an Extended Warranty after my currrent one expires.
Thanks for your help.
Thanks again.
Own a 96 Camry (giving to my 17 year old daughter), my experience is that I do not need anything beyond the basic warranty. We bought ext warranty for this car
new back in 1995 for $695 with zero ded. I have only used once for fixing the attena (about $300). Buy my wife wants a peace of mind, ask me to find out how much the ext warranty costs before we visit a dealership. Thank you all for your help.
Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum
warranty time/mileage periods.
Aftermarket warranties are different........BUT its buyer beware with them.....
I've seen things like this quite often, unfortunately. Saving a couple of bucks or shopping over the internet isn't always worth the final price you pay - in this member's situation, it seems it's $2000 for nothing.
With the low miles and my expected low miles over the next couple of years (I've got 18 months on the manufacturers warranty remaining, and expect to put less than 10,000 miles on the car per year) I am having a hard time finding a warranty option that is suited to my situation. What do you guys think? Thanks for any advice. -i
Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum
Annie4
I've never done a chat room before and was very disappointed that not one person responded to my message, #1013. Do you have any thoughts, and is there anything wrong with the way I used this system?
Naive in CT
You won't find many, if any, auto business pros who would recommend ANY private service contract. I recommend reading posts #80-85 in Smart Choice Warranty Help (here in Smart Shopper) to help talk you out of purchasing one of these "policies" - they aren't "warranties".
I take my rec'ts and log the date and mileage as an additional measure, just to show I bought the stuff.
If I was in your situation, I personally would purchase the official Subaru extended warranty rather than the third party policy. Manufacturers are much more likely to stand behind their products and cover any necessary repairs in an effort to keep you as a happy, loyal customer than some random third party. Furthermore, I have seen a number of independent warranty providers go bankrupt over the years, leaving their policyholders with worthless contracts.
If you opt to go with an official Subaru contract, remember that in most states the prices of extended warranties are negotiable. Furthermore, you do not have to purchase your vehicle's extended warranty from the dealership that you plan on having it serviced at. You are free to shop around, either in person, over the phone, or by e-mail for an attractive price on the level of coverage that you want. Once you have gotten an attractive price quote, give the dealer that you plan on using the service your vehicle an option to match this price. While you do not necessarily have to purchase your extended warranty from the dealer that performs your service work, all things being equal, it never hurts to do so.
Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum
I didn't have an extended warranty on my previous car (530i) and paid more than $7m after expiration and am still paying since it went dead the day it was to be returned locking all systems and had to be towed 40 miles to the selling dealer (no one else would accept it).
I just purchased a new 2005 Town& Country Limited from a dealer in Fairfax County, Va. The which has a manufacturer;s warranty of three years and 36,000 miles. The finance person tried to sell me an extended warranty, which goes to 100,000 miles. I turned it down and said I would get back to them; it can still be included as part of the deal if I agree within two days. The price is $2,130. I drive my cars for 10 years or more. Should I get this warranty, and is the price reasonable.
BobR1
Remember that in most states, the selling prices of extended warranties are negotiable. Not only that, but you do not have to purchase your extended coverage from the dealer that you bought your truck at or the one that you plan to have it serviced at. You are free to do so from any Chrysler, dodge, or Jeep dealer in the U.S. If I was in your situation, I would shop around on-line for price quotes on an official Chrysler extended warranty for this van. You should be able to find a number of dealers that sell these warranties to consumers over the Web. Once you have gotten a quote, take it to the dealer that you plan to have your van serviced at and see if they will beat, or at least match it. While you are not required to buy your warranty from the dealer that will be performing the majority of your service work, it never hurts to do so.
Good luck in your quest for an extended warranty and if you think of any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum
Thanks!
Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum
Bill
My experience has seen that the dealer needs to get authorization for repairs just the same. The dealer price is always more expensive. And the dealer usually makes the effective date of the warranty the original in service date. That means if you buy a 2000 vehicle in 2002, your six year warranty expires in 2006. The only advantage of buying a dealer warranty is that you know where you can go to complain if there is a problem with a claim.
My advice is to do your research. When looking for a warranty you obviously want to check the price , level of coverage, and where you can go to get repairs done. But there are 3 very important things to question when buying a warranty from an internet company:
1) Are they insured? (Risk Retention Groups are less reliable but still valuable. If a warranty isn't back by either, RUN!!!)
2) How do they pay claims? (Always go with a company that will pay directly to the repair shop.)
3) What is their standing with the BBB? (That can tell you how many customer's are unhappy with said companies business practices.)
I bought a warranty through a dealer once and had more problems with that than any of the "3rd party" warranties I purchased.
By the way, if you've had such good luck with yours and they've paid out big claims quickly and easily, then post their name so that others may seek them out.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
many dealers sell third-party service contracts.
I must agree with you on many of your comments, but I would like to expand on them. I have spent the last 60 days reviewing warranty companies as I was very naive to the different companies, coverages and the backing of the contracts.See post #903
1.If a service contract is directly insured, it means that if the provider goes out of business, the contract is still valid because the service contract agreement is between the customer and the insurance company. Directly insured service contract companies must have approved state insurance filings and are subject to stringent state regulatory oversight and review.
In the case of an RRG, this does not apply. I have spoken to many representatives
from these companies and they say "you have nothing t worry about, all our contracts are reinsured by an AM Best "A" rated insurance company. This is not true. The agreement between the RRG and the Re-insurer is that they will only pay about 5% to 10% if the RRG goes broke. We, as consumers have no recourse because the service contract agreement is between us and the RRG, not the reinsurer.
2.If a service contract company makes you pay for claims up-front and wait for reimbursement, I would run the other way. I thought this was the main reason to purchase a service contract, to save on repairs and out of pocket expenses.
3.Check the BBB and Web Assured. I found several companies that display one or the other. A company that does not have both may have something to hide(like a terrible complaint problem) as I found out.
4.The factory backed service contracts seem to be quite good but price and coverage can be questioned.
5.There are only roughly 5 directly insured service contract providers on the Internet that I was able to find. The best company for coverage, benefits and pricing was 5starwarranty.com. The only downside is that the coverage is not available in all states and the car must still be under factory warranty.
I finally purchased and am quite happy with my choice (after 2 months of research).
I hope this is helpful to others.
Janell
#2 No dealer I have bought a vehicle through offers a manufacturer backed policy unless its a brand new vehicle.
#3 I wasn't sure what the status quo was as far as listing company names on the message board, but since you asked, the warranty I just recently purchased was from Warranty Warehouse and its for 4 years or 90,000 miles. They repaired my wiper motors and power windows just this year. It was a very smooth process with no out of pocket expense or time wasted.
I argue for 3rd party warranties because this is the 4th warranty I've purchased in the last 12 years and by far the easiest to use.
(re: to qbrozen) Stop complaining and start complimenting. Maybe people should make note of the companies they're happy with more often. It seems every time you hear something about a specific company it's all bad news. This is my endorsement for a company that has done right by me over the last year anyway. If your looking for a warranty on your vehicle try Warranty Warehouse. I hope you have as good an experience as I have had.
I couldn't agree with you more that people should praise their good experiences as much as they complain about their bad. Unfortunately, the old saying will probably always hold true .... how does it go again? Something like a customer who has a good experience will tell one person about it, but one who has a bad experience will tell 10? Something like that.
I haven't decided whether I'm going to get a warranty for my 350Z or not. We bought the Honda factory warranty for my wife's car, though.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Mid-States Ford Truck Sales Inc. in Iowa
http://www.mid-statesford.com and I live in Virginia. Received the most competitive quote and was very simply handled via email, phone and fax. Give them a shot.
Virgie
Thanks.
Just wondering if the warranties sold on Toyotawarranty.com are legit and acceptable? Mahalo!
BTW, wyldcatz, the Toyotawarranty.com people told me they sell the same warranty as TFS, and that they are Toyota dealers. The TFS site says "new vehicle protection plans can be purchased at any time while your vehicle: is less than three years old and has fewer than 36,000 total miles."
I checked Toyotafinancial.com, and their plan is not available in Hawaii (what a surprise... not!) I have a call in to Toyotawarranty.com to check on the validity of their plan in Hawaii, and the guy told me that he's had problems getting those plans approved for people in Hawaii (last time it took about 3 months to get it approved). He's checking and will get back to me.
I refuse to buy anything but a dealer-backed extended service coverage, so my question is: Am I doomed to pay $1,500 for a 7-year/75k plan, as was quoted by my salesperson when I purchased my car?
Any heop would be appreciated. Mahalo!